Give Me Your Riches: Chapter Eleven

"Ceddy!" Winifred squealed as she opened her front door. "What a delicious, delicious surprise! Come here, darling, come here." Short arms wrapped around Cedric's middle and lovingly tried to suffocate him.

Before his arrival in Mystic Meadows, Cedric had spent the morning berating himself for his loss of control the night before. His emotions had gotten the better of his magic. And, the greater crime in his opinion, his emotions had gotten the better of his common sense. The evening had definitely been a mistake.

A rather delightful mistake...

A moment where Cedric had been able to forget everything but the woman in his arms, and the way her hair loosely fell to tickle his hand as he held the small of her back. The way her laughter rang out like cheerful little bells to echo through the tower. The way her breath caught when he spoke her name.

Merlin's mushrooms. He had been such an idiot to say her name like that. He was a cretin, and yet he couldn't bring himself to completely regret it. Especially not when he saw her again in the morning. Sofia had entered his tower door at precisely the right time to tend to the potion after the sun had risen. The squeak of the door had stirred him from a restless slumber. His rest was interrupted every three hours for the demanding requirements of the potion in conjunction with his conscious berating him over his actions. When he blearily stumbled down the stairs, Sofia held herself as the picture of Apprentice professionalism with the exception of a glint of something more barely concealed behind her eyes. Cedric couldn't bring himself to discourage her. It was the happiest he had seen her in over a week. He found that, just like the dance, he was unable to deny Sofia her happiness.

"You're looking a little...tired, darling," Winifred's voice, perfumed with sweet suggestion, brought Cedric back into the present. He fought back a strong desire to roll his eyes.

"Just the life of a potioneer, Mummy. And before you ask, no I won't allow you to cut my hair." He kissed her cheek and ignored her petulant frown. He stepped aside to allow her to embrace Sofia. The women clung to each other for a time before Winifred stepped back, grasping Sofia by the shoulders.

"Let me look at you, darling. Let me look at you!" Winifred appraised Sofia before throwing her arms in the air. "Just as I thought. Even more beautiful than the last time I saw you. Don't you think so, Ceddy?"

"As you say, Mummy," Cedric replied with a very intentionally distracted tone.

"Oh, Mrs. Winifred, I don't think - "

"I've told you time and time again to call me "Mum," darling. You're practically part of the family, what with you being such a good friend to Ceddy. And how you go about escorting Calista throughout the Kingdoms whenever she asks."

Sofia and Cedric spoke over each other.

"You're too kind, Mrs. Winifred, really, but I don't think I should -"

"Mummy, I hardly think it's appropriate -"

Winifred dismissed them with a wave of her hand. "Oh hush, both of you, and get inside."

The house looked the same as always, though the mantle was starting to get overcrowded with various accolades Calista had earned at school. The front door closed and Winifred bustled around Cedric and Sofia to the dining room. The old sorceress pointed her wand at a few stacks of plates and a tea service hopped to life on the dining room table. Steam started to float out of the teapot as the tea leaves inside began to steep in the magically hot water. All the while, a cucumber sliced itself and arranged itself onto white bread with a generous smear of creamed cheese. Cookies danced out of nearby tins to lay neatly on a tiered tray in the center of the table. Winifred turned and gave her two guests an amused look.

"Life's too short not to have a bit of fun, don't you think? Oh! Goody, there you are, love. Come sit! Look who's here for tea!"

Goodwin came into the room with a sure footed step. He held his arms out towards the Princess.

"Princess Sofia, my dear! Such a pleasure to see you again." Sofia glided across the room into the man's embrace. He hugged her around the shoulders with one arm; a physical sign of affection that very nearly violated Goodwin's strong sense of Royal propriety. But, for Sofia, he made an exception. He released Sofia and his expression slid into something that more resembled a brick wall. "Cedric," he said stiffly as he extended his hand. Cedric moved forward to shake it once. The two dropped hands as quickly as they could.

Cedric stifled a sigh as they all moved to sit around the table. Everyone had a designated spot: Goodwin at the head with Winifred across from him. Sofia and Cedric sat on the same side of the table, Sofia as a buffer between Cedric and his father. The other side of the table was reserved for Cordelia and Calista, even when they weren't in attendance.

"Mummy, we can't stay long. You shouldn't have gone to all the trouble." Cedric said even as he was reaching for a cookie covered in raspberry jam. "There's a potion we have to attend to," he took a bite of the cookie. "Vurry shenshetive thime thable."

"Pish posh, Ceddy. You can always just pop back to your little potion and then right back here. You come so rarely that I simply won't be denied my time with you. And while you're gone I can have a little conversation with Sofia. Woman to woman."

If words could pinch cheeks, Cedric's and Sofia's would both be bright red. Cedric tried to protest but his mother immediately began asking after the health of Sofia's family. Proprietary insisted that Sofia answer.

The conversation flowed naturally enough. Cedric spoke of the work he was currently performing in the kingdom, to his father's mild satisfaction. Cedric's mother went on for an uncomfortably long time about the different women in her magic knitting circle and their various and sundry matronly health concerns. Sofia, blessedly, interrupted right before things got too graphic to ask Goodwin to share the story of the seventh time he saved the life of Roland the First. Goodwin required no further prodding to indulge her request.

"It had been a terribly hot and dry summer. And we had a bit of a rare treat delivered to us as a kindness from one of the kingdoms in the north. It was...Merlin's beard, which one was it?"

"Freezenburg," answered the entire table in wildly varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Ah! Yes, quite right. Freezenburg. So it was. Well, King Roland, the first you understand, was such a generous man. He invited a few of the up and ups in the castle to join him for some chilled wine and a meeting of minds. Such a thoughtful man. I could create ice for him in moments, but he thought it best that we saw to the enjoyment of a gift that was so hard to come by...for the common folk, you know. So, several of us were sitting in his study while one of the servants used a chisel to break off chunks of the ice. Some was placed beside the pitcher to chill the wine and then bits were added to the glasses of those who requested it. I didn't, of course. The ice dilutes the wine, you know, and just ruins the flavor. But, to each his own. I was served second, second most powerful in the room, you know, and waited a few moments for the rest to be served, but then," he chuckled. Cedric mouthed the next few words along with his father. "I just couldn't help myself. I took a sip. But the man beside me started to foam at the mouth." He paused for dramatic effect, waiting for the question which Sofia supplied as though it was the first time she heard the story.

"What happened next?"

"Well, I stood immediately, shocked, as the man beside me started to convulse. He died almost instantly. A second man followed suit moments later. The King, wise man that he was, put his goblet aside immediately. I magically tested the wine at his Majesty's behest but, as I expected, the wine was untainted and not bewitched to cause deadly afflictions - save for wine's particular kind of intended affliction, of course." He gave another chuckle. "The men were taken away, poor creatures. But even with his Majesty's and my own considerable mind working together, we could not solve the mystery of their deaths. Nearly an hour later, we two were back in the study alone and his Majesty reached for his goblet, and that's when it hit me - the ice!"

"You mean the ice was poisoned?" Sofia led Goodwin into the next line of the story. Her eyes caught Cedric's and he saw the slightest trace of amusement hidden deep in her expression. He felt the corner of his lip tug slightly upwards, but, thinking better of it, he immediately schooled his face back to one of dower stoicism.

"Yes, indeed, my dear! Poisoned!"

"What did you do?!" Sofia gasped. Goodwin took Sofia's tone as sincere but Cedric could hear the notes of playful placation in her voice. He found it even harder not to smile.

"I stood up," and Goodwin stood, "and knocked the goblet from his hand!" And he did, except, in this demonstration, it was a teacup that was knocked from Cedric's hand. The cup clattered to the ground and Cedric drew in a deep breath of self control. Winifred, used to this particular choreography in the retelling of this story, idly waved her wand over Cedric and his shirt dried. The liquid returned to its cup, now righted, sat in front of Cedric again.

"King Roland looked at me like I was insane. 'Ice, Goodwin? But there is none in my glass!' he said. 'Ah!' I replied, 'but there was an hour ago and it has since melted away!' 'My God!' the King replied, 'you're right! We shall send a letter of war to..to…'"

"Freezenburg," the table harmonized.

"'To Freezeburg post haste!' But I held my hands up in protest. 'My King, you know I support you, but perhaps this calls for further inquiry before we launch a thousand ships. Anyone can sign a card, you see.' The King looked thoughtful for a moment and then he nodded his head in agreement. A few days investigative work found the true culprit - a disgruntled nobleman who was dealt with post haste. And that, my dear Sofia, is how I saved your grandfather's life for the seventh time. And, in doing so, prevented thousands of deaths from a war of misunderstanding."

The audience of three applauded, Sofia's hands proving to be the most enthusiastic.

"You do such a wonderful job telling that story, Mr. Goodwin," the Princess said. Cedric watched her and admired her deft balance between flattery and sincerity. Her approach was only a slight refinement of the skills a child develops to cajole requests out of their parents. But it was quite clear to Cedric that, with little additional training, Sofia's skills of manipulation would be difficult to compete against. It would be incredibly advantageous for her to develop her skills further. And it would be incredibly useful for him to have that skill at his disposal.

Cedric mentally shook himself. He swatted back that nagging lust for power situated somewhere deep in his belly that had reached a tendril up to his mind. Sofia was a person, not an object to use to his advantage. Any advantage.

"I was actually hoping you could tell me a few more stories." Sofia's voice broke Cedric from his momentary revelry. Her expression was a carefully crafted but sincere thing and Cedric briefly wondered how many times she had used the same technique on him. Though, surely, he'd be a more difficult mark than his father.

Goodwin gave a hearty laugh. "You indulge an old man too much, Princess."

"Oh don't be silly, Mr. Goodwin. You'd be doing me a service."

The man entwined his hands over his ample stomach. "You know I'd do anything to serve the noble house of Winslow, Princess. Ask away."

"I was hoping you could tell me a bit more about my grandfather, King Roland the First."

"I should think the two of you are well-acquainted from all my previous tales, dear girl!"

Sofia released a tinkling laugh and gave the old sorcerer an easy smile. "I apologize, I should have made my meaning clearer. I meant to ask if you knew anything about him when he was a younger man, or even when he was a boy?"

Goodwin leaned back in his chair and furrowed his brow in thought. Cedric looked to Sofia with an eyebrow raised questioningly. This wasn't a line of inquiry she had mentioned last night. She smiled back at him innocently but then her eyes widened and she quickly turned back to Goodwin. She had caught the eye of Winifred. Cedric turned his head to look at her and she gave him a knowing smirk. He was decidedly not in favor of the meddling gleam in his mother's eye.

"I have to say, Princess," Goodwin said, interrupting the brief silence, "that I can't seem to remember much about the good King's youth. Our family has served Enchancia since its inception, you know. But, like Cedric, I spent much of my youth at Hexley Hall, as I imagine your grandfather spent much of his time at Royal Preparatory. I was always happy to serve the Kingdom, of course. But he and I didn't become more than professional acquaintances until I had the great honor to save his life..." His face broke into a deep grin. "...the first time."

Sofia nodded, still smiling. "You must know of every major magical object in Enchancia, having served the Kingdom so well and for so long."

Cedric briefly wondered if Sofia truly held the potential to be a master manipulator or if his father was simply an exceptionally easy target. He had to know Sofia was after something.

Goodwin somehow managed to strut in place and, in doing so, put every peacock that had ever attempted to strut to shame.

"Of course I do! Though I would hope Cedric would know about these things as well. It is part of his task as Royal Sorcerer to know them all. It would be a shame that my son should disappoint you and cause you to travel out all this way to learn from me instead. Not that I mind, my dear, not that I mind."

Before Cedric had the chance to take offense, Sofia's hand grazed his knee under the table and lightly rested there. He stalled at her touch and missed the chance to voice his dissent as Sofia began to defend him.

"I did my own research, Mr. Goodwin, and could only find the barest of information on this peculiar item. I did ask Master Cedric and he wisely suggested I come to you with my inquiry, as the site in question was established during your tenure as Royal Sorcerer."

That was a partial lie. Cedric almost opened his mouth to protest. It was, however, a partial lie that painted him in a relatively positive light. And he hadn't missed Sofia calling him 'master' while she called his father 'mister.' And so he promptly shut his mouth again, though Goodwin's self-satisfied smile gave Cedric serious second thoughts.

"Go on, then, Princess. I'll be glad to tell you what I know."

Sofia pulled her hand from Cedric's knee to reach into a pocket of her gown. She drew out her little notebook. She then opened it to a page where she had made a rendering of the dilapidated well she had described to Cedric last night.

"I know it to be a Wishing Well in the middle of the hedgerows, but it looks like it was abandoned and forgotten a long time ago, and I don't know why." Goodwin took the book in his hands to examine the drawing more carefully. "The only concrete information I can find on it is the date it appeared - I wrote it down just there - but nothing else. No record of the building materials or the cost of its construction. I just found it so strange that something so powerful would appear with so little record."

Goodwin was quiet for a long time. He was quiet for long enough that Cedric began to have vivid flashbacks to sitting within the palpable silence of his father's displeasure on any of the myriad of occasions that Cedric had disappointed him. When Goodwin finally removed the book from his inspection and sat it on the table, he gave a falsely lighthearted shrug accompanied by a self-deprecating laugh.

"It appears my mind isn't what it used to be, Princess. This particular Wishing Well is familiar to me in that I recall it from my list of magical objects within Enchancia. But like the name of that all-winter kingdom, what's-it-called - " he snapped his fingers in the air twice, trying to remember.

"Freezenburg?" Sofia supplied.

"Just like Freezenburg, your Highness, the details escape this old man."

Sofia took the dead end in good spirits, Cedric thought. Barely a flash of dismay crossed her features before she tucked it away behind a gracious smile. It was his father's reaction that Cedric found less convincing. Those who used magic, knowingly or unknowingly, generally enjoyed a much longer lifespan than the average man; it wasn't uncommon for a sorcerer or a witch to reach their three hundredth birthday. Merlin himself was reputedly nearly four hundred, though that information wasn't exactly public knowledge. Cedric's father was barely ninety and in perfect health. He had adopted a practice in recent years, when amongst mixed magical company, to forget certain facts here and there to portray the image of a tired old man, mostly so he could enjoy his retirement in peace with his wife.

His father was lying. And he was lying to Sofia, whom he seemed to love more than his own son. Frankly, Cedric found it unacceptable.

"Are you certain, father?" Cedric probed. Goodwin straightened in his chair.

"Of course I'm certain, Cedric." He sounded affronted. Good.

"I just know the Princess is disappointed and she's too polite to say so. I assured her last night that you would surely have the information she sought. You are such a fountain of knowledge for the magical objects of Enchancia, even in your retirement. While my attentions have been drawn to more immediate problems, you retain all the heroism of your glory days serving the Kingdom."

Sofia tried to catch Cedric's eye, her face gradually reddening with frustration as he portrayed her as a damsel in distress. Cedric blatantly ignored her, staring daggers into his father.

"She has found nothing but cold trails and dead ends in her search for information about this particular object. I truly thought you would know, father. But I suppose I shall have to find a way to compensate for your short-comings. It is such a shame to see you losing your touch."

Goodwin's mustache was quivering in flustered rage. His mouth formed wordlessly for a few moments before he finally sputtered out: "There is no information, you belligerent boy! I looked into this query myself half a century ago! The Well simply appeared one day and I was unable to account for it. It's an embarrassment to my time spent serving Enchancia and you are quite crass for bringing it up!"

Goodwin erupted from his chair and was about to shout again when Sofia stood and took his hand in both of hers.

"I don't think it's embarrassing at all, Mr. Goodwin."

Goodwin blundered any attempt at a response as Sofia held tightly to his hand, preventing him from storming away.

"It's clearly a very powerful magical object. Even the simple theory of magical flight has its mysteries. If something as potent as a Wishing Well decided to appear in Enchancia, no one could expect you to explain why, not when we can't even explain why certain incantations for fire can be used underwater while other incantations lack the strength to light a simple candle. You brought no shame to Enchancia by not knowing every detail about the Well. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing what you knew with me."

Sofia had gotten closer to the patriarch as she spoke and now stood beside him, one hand still held to his and the other resting lightly on his back. Her speech had taken the wind out of Goodwin's angry sails. Cedric watched, aghast. He had only ever seen his mother quelle his father's temper and usually over a much longer time period than the seconds it had taken for Sofia. He looked to his mother to find her watching with a pensive air.

"Would you please come back and sit with us?" Sofia's hand lightly guided Goodwin back to his chair. "I would hate for our visit to be cut short." Goodwin plopped back down into his chair which creaked in protest. Sofia squeezed his hand one last time and then took her own seat with a dangerously victorious expression.

"Have you considered asking it?" Winifred, having sat silently for an unusually long time, asked.

"I beg your pardon, Mrs. - um - Mum?"

"Have you considered asking the Well about its origins?"

Sofia sat back in her chair and blinked several times. "...no. No, but that's a brilliant idea!"

Winifred looked from Sofia to Cedric with far too much pleasure. "Yes, I do have them from time to time. Don't you need to go and tend to that potion of yours, Ceddy?"

As if on Winifred's cue, Cedric's pocket watch chimed from within his pocket. He gave his mother the smallest glare. She had an uncanny sense of time. She waved him out of his chair with a shooing gesture and Cedric found himself beside the door in moments. He turned back to find his mother standing behind Sofia. She put her hands lightly on the Princess's shoulders.

"Well, hurry off, then. You said it was so time sensitive. Sofia and I will just nip out to the garden to and prune the herbs while you're gone." She gave Sofia's shoulders a little squeeze. "As long as you don't mind, dear. The sage in particular responds better to being pruned by hand instead of by wand and my knees just aren't what they used to be."

"Oh, Mummy, I don't -"

"I don't mind at all!" Sofia got to her feet and headed out to the garden through the kitchen at the back of the house. Goodwin sat, sipping his now-cold tea, thoughtfully watching Sofia walk away. Winifred stared at Cedric expectantly.

"Time is wasting, Ceddy dear."

"Mummy," Cedric's voice was warning.

"Oh Ceddy, it's not like I'm going to bite the girl. We're just going to talk. Now go tend to your potion before you lose all the work you've put into it already."

Cedric shifted his weight from foot to foot. His mother's every word was laced with alternate meanings and he was not keen on leaving her alone to prod who-knows-what information from Sofia. Princess, damn it all, Princess Sofia. His pocket watch chimed again, more insistently this time. Cedric gave his mother one last warning scowl, to which she waved her hand in that shooing motion again. Defeated, he stepped outside of the door and teleported back to his tower.

.

.

A/N: I am so sorry this wasn't ready in October. As I posted in other stories, my beta had a death in the family and so their time was shorter than usual. I sincerely hope to have TWO chapters up in November to keep things on schedule.

In an unexpected first, I accomplished precisely what I planned to accomplish in this chapter and nothing more (and nothing less). Huzzah for finally planning effectively!

I have 10 more chapters well-mapped, including the conclusion to the story. There may be an additional chapter or two if characters get too chatty. I'm gonna go ahead and say that we're looking at about 22 chapters total. So we're halfway there! Woo!

In case you couldn't understand it, when Cedric's mouth is full of cookies, he says "Very sensitive time table."

And with that, reviews, please! How did you enjoy affectionately-meddling Winifred? I love her. She'll be back big-time next chapter. And what about constantly-disappointed-in-Cedric-but-enamored-with-Sofia Goodwin? Less loveable, but very entertaining. My inspiration is Professor Slughorn from Harry Potter. :) Have you ever had to leave your crush alone with your parents, for some reason? TERRIFYING. Usually nothing happens. Usually ;)